Grave Secrets (26 page)

“Sorry, ma’am, I don’t have an answer for you.” He turned to go.

“Wait! What can you tell me? You can’t leave me hanging like this.” No way was she going to let him walk out the door without telling her
something
.

He paused and quirked a smile. “I can tell you that besides needing a new CEO, you’ll be needing a new company doctor, as well as a few other employees.”

“Oh...” Her mind raced as comprehension set in. “You mean to tell me Doctor Weatherby was involved?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

It took her a moment to accept the implication. “I suppose that explains a lot.” When he didn’t respond, she said, “You can’t give me any information, can you?”

“Sorry.”

“That’s all right. I have my daughter and you have the people responsible for the men’s deaths.” She walked him to the door.

“By the way, what will happen to the remains of the other baby?”

“If none of Ms. Long’s family steps forward, then both the mother and baby will be cremated.”

Sara couldn’t let that happen. “No. I want her buried with Jason, in his coffin. Is that possible?”

He looked at her skeptically. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. She was his child, after all, and an innocent in all of this. Even though I don’t agree with what Melissa did, she had the right idea. Alice deserves a decent burial with her father.” It was the least Sara could do. Jason hadn’t spent much time with his daughter in this life. Now he could spent eternity with her.

“I’ll see to it,” Cannon said with a brisk nod.

“Also, we’ll be moving tomorrow, so if you need to contact me, you can reach me on my cell phone.” It hadn’t taken her long to find a nice apartment in a neighborhood with several young couples. Kaycee needed playmates, and Sara needed the companionship of other young mothers.

He glanced around the vast interior before focusing on her. “Can’t say as I blame you. Will you be taking over the company now?”

She shook her head.

He gave a slight nod, as if he understood. “If we need you, we’ll be in touch.”

Sara closed the door behind him. She’d been so happy to have Kaycee home she hadn’t thought about what was happening with the company. She was more than ready to walk away from everything associated with the place. The Board would run things for a while, until she figured out what she was going to do. She wanted to ensure the employees were taken care of, but retaining her shares of the stock held no appeal what-so-ever.

With Kaycee asleep, Sara decided to have some tea. As she pulled the tin from the cabinet, she stopped. This was tea Leo had given her...with supposed “soothing” ingredients.
Soothing, indeed!
More than likely, this was the cause of her hallucinations. Disgusted, she slammed it against the countertop and left the kitchen. She’d turn it over to Detective Cannon just in case.

As she reached the stairs, a knock at the door caught her off guard. She hesitated. What now? With a heavy sigh, she checked the peephole, then took a step back to get her suddenly accelerated pulse under control.

Morgan.

What did he want? Maybe he needed to discuss the payout on the insurance policy. That had to be the only reason why he’d be here. Once the police had determined neither she nor Kaycee had been injured during the shooting, they’d been taken to the police station so Sara could make a statement. She hadn’t seen Morgan since, and he hadn’t called, leaving her to wonder.

During the hours when Kaycee slept, Sara thought about him, about what he meant to her. She’d wanted to see him, to talk to him. To find out if
she
meant anything
him
. She’d picked up the phone to call him several times, but had never hit Send. Call her old-fashioned, she wanted him to come to her. When Kaycee would wake from her naps, the memories of Morgan’s kisses, his caresses were relegated to the back of her mind. Now, with his solid build standing on the other side of the door, Sara decided to revert back to business mode—to leave her emotions out of this meeting. He’d take care of whatever paperwork there was, then be gone. Probably for good.

With a neutral expression plastered on her face, she swung the door open. He stood on the step, looking as dark and menacing as ever. Except for the white lop-eared rabbit in his left hand.

“Um, I thought Kaycee should have a new one. No offense, but the other one looked like it was on its last leg. So to speak.” A smile touched the corners of his lips as he lifted the toy into the air briefly, then let it slide to his side.

The gift touched Sara. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about Morgan, about
them
. All of her emotions were still so raw, so fresh. Despite what she’d just told herself, the sight of him warmed her heart. She stepped back, allowing him entrance,

“How have you been?” he asked as soon as the door closed.

The polite question chafed. After all they’d been through, practically the first thing out of his mouth is a generic how-are-you question? “If you wanted to know, you could have called. Or asked Charlene to find out for you. She’s quite efficient, you know.” The frost in her voice should have sent him running.

His shoulders drooped. “Believe me, I wanted to camp out on your doorstep, but I figured you needed time alone with Kaycee. You didn’t need anyone hanging around interfering.”

She frowned. He was just saying what he thought she wanted to hear. Simply saying the right words at the right time didn’t necessarily make those words true. All the men in her life had said what they needed to in order to keep her in line—to do what they wanted. And gullible, trusting sap that she was, she’d fallen for them. Wiser, she intended to protect her heart better.

Seeing Morgan here, so close, looking and smelling fantastic took a toll on her resolve, though. Best to get the paperwork over with and let him get on with his life so she could get on with hers. Hers and Kaycee’s. Just the two of them. Sara had always thought that would be enough. Now she wasn’t so sure.

“What do you need, Morgan?”

“You.”

She stared at him several long moments, trying to absorb what he meant. He didn’t blink, didn’t back down. Typical Morgan. Unmoving. But unlike the first time he came into this house, heat radiated from him as desire flared in his eyes. Her heart thudded. Warmth spread throughout her body, pooling in her stomach.

For the first time since she met him, she was afraid. Not of him—of herself and her reaction to him. He had too much power over her. A power she couldn’t control. No. She couldn’t do this.

Kaycee’s soft cry came through the monitor next to the door, breaking the spell.

Relieved and flustered, she said, “Excuse me while I tend to her. She’s just waking up from her nap.” Sara didn’t wait for his response. Instead, she turned and hurried up the stairs.

She hummed as she changed Kaycee, the tune the same one she’d carried in her mind all this time. She’d missed so much of her daughter's first few months, but they were together now and Sara couldn’t seem to stop smiling. She lifted the baby into her arms and hugged her, inhaling the baby shampoo. For once, Kaycee didn’t want to be cuddled. Sara turned to find Morgan standing on the other side of the door. Wonder and longing had replaced the stoic expression he normally wore. For a moment, she thought she could see all the way into his soul.

“I hope you don’t mind. Thought I’d go ahead and give little bit her toy.” He raised the stuffed rabbit.

Kaycee squealed in delight and kicked to get down, then promptly scooted toward the doorway. The last time Sara had seen him standing in a doorway like that, he’d killed for her. There was something about knowing a man would kill for you, do anything for you, apparently. The willingness touched her in places she wasn’t ready to explore. Not yet, anyway.

To her surprise, he took a couple steps into the room, then sat on the floor cross-legged. Kaycee crawled right to him. Scooping the baby into his arms, he set her on his lap. Once there, he handed her the toy, which Kaycee immediately stuck in her mouth and started chewing.

Laughter bubbled out of Morgan. “Hey, there, kiddo. Guess you like that, huh?” He ran his hand up and down her back as she squirmed, then slobbered all over him. He turned his dark eyes on Sara.

“I was a total as...um, jerk,” he amended as he looked down at the child, “the other day. I’m sorry.” Holding out his hand, he invited her to sit beside him, which she reluctantly accepted.

The sight of the man lovingly holding her very contented child melted a chunk of Sara’s heart. He was cold and ruthless and warm and sharing, and he had Sara’s emotions in a tailspin.

“Have you ever gone to an ice cream social?” he asked.

“What? Um, no, I don’t think so.” Of all things she expected him to say, that wasn’t one of them.

He bounced Kaycee as she continued to slobber on the stuffed rabbit. “Aunt Nona had them all the time. She’d invite all the neighbors—which felt like half the county. Uncle Pete made the kids take turns sitting on the ancient ice cream freezer, refused to use the more modern ones. Said the ice cream tasted better. You know, I think it did. Especially after you’d frozen your butt off in the making.”

She smiled. “How old were you?”

“Too old to be sitting on a stupid bucket of ice while someone slowly cranked the handle. I thought I was a grown man at fourteen, but he still made me take a turn.” He chuckled at the memory, then sobered at her expression.

She had no idea what he was getting at, but she had to clear the air about a few things before the conversation went further. “I have to know, Morgan. Did the police tell you about Leo? Is that why you came looking for me?”

“No. Before we realized Leo was behind it all, I’d already made up my mind. I didn’t care about the evidence, I knew you weren’t guilty.”

She furrowed her brow, studying him, trying to figure him out. “You didn’t care? Then how did—”

Morgan twined his fingers with hers. “I told myself it was my gut, or simply my dick talking.”

She laughed nervously at the memories of their one night together.

“Then I realized it was my heart. How could the woman I love be guilty of murder?”

“You—you love me?”

“Oh, God, yes! I’m so crazy in love with you it hurts.” He squeezed her hand.

She didn’t know what to say. Her heart, on the other hand, began to sing.

“Look. I know you have a lot to deal with. Jason’s death, his betrayal, losing then finding kiddo here, discovering Leo was behind most of it. Hell, it would knock most people on their butts. But look at you, stronger than ever.”

Desire, love, pleading, and what she could swear was fear, radiated from his eyes. She still didn’t know how to respond.

“Listen. My parents didn’t display love or affection. It’s one of the reasons I got into so much trouble after my mom died. Then Pete and Nona took me in, and I saw that love was not just devotion, but a total commitment to each other. During the good times and bad. And trust me, I gave ’em some pretty bad times. They never kicked me out, though.”

It was her turn to squeeze his hand.

“Guess that’s what I’ve always wanted deep down here.” He placed his hand over his heart. “I want what they have. I want to live a simple life out in the country with lots of fresh air and laughter.”

Sara froze, afraid to hope. “What are you saying?”

He visibly swallowed and for the first time since she met him, big, tough, cold as granite Morgan looked unsure of himself.

“It’s still early in the game. I know that. But you aren’t getting rid of me. Not now, not ever. I’ll give you all the space and time you need. I’ll wait as long as I have to, because there’s a future for us, Sara. For you and me and little bit, here.”

Leaning over the baby’s head, he touched his mouth to hers. The soft heat of his lips sent goose bumps of pleasure down her arms. Sara scooted closer, wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

Until a small foot came up and connected with Morgan’s chin.

“Umph!” Instead of becoming upset, he smiled at the baby. “Hey, there, punkin. Think I ought to hang around for awhile. Like until your mom and I are both old and gray?”

Kaycee peered at him intently, as if she understood what he said. Kicking her legs, she smiled a big toothless smile, slobbering on him some more.

Sara and Morgan looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

His smile transformed the hard features of his face to soft, sensual, and wickedly handsome. A face she thought she could wake up next to every day for the rest of her life.

“It looks like she approves,” she said as she leaned down to kiss her daughter’s silky blond hair, almost bumping his chin again in the process. Her hand came to rest on his chest. He might be sitting there all calm and collected, but his heart beat a mile a minute. Knowing she had that effect on him gave Sara satisfaction. She raised her head, met his steady gaze.

“Good. Cause I figure that would be a deal breaker if ever there was one. However, I have it on good authority I’m good with the ladies so I’m sure I’d be able to win her over.” He tickled Kaycee’s tummy, and she squealed in delight.

“Oh, yeah? Whose authority?” Sara didn’t feel jealous. Really she didn’t. She simply wanted to know.
Uh-huh.

“Charlene.”

“Oh.” Well, okay, then.

He turned serious again. “Sara, Uncle Pete showed me that being a dad doesn’t have anything to do with biology. I want to be Kaycee’s father. I want to teach her how to ride a bike and play ball, how to dance and how to punch a boy’s lights out when he makes a pass at her.” He took a breath. “I also want to give her lots of brothers and sisters to play with.”

“Oh, Morgan.” She was overwhelmed. When he’d shown up at her door, she thought it would be a quick visit, some paperwork from the insurance company, then he’d be out of her life. Only he’d surprised her.

“When you’re ready, and if you’ll have me, I know of an older but sturdy farmhouse that will be going on the market before too long, where there’s lots of room for Kaycee and her siblings to run and have a puppy and lots of fresh air and—”